Winding apparatus



United States Patent 61 6 Claims. (Cl. 242-18) This invention relates to an improved winding device and is a modification of the device described in British patent specification No. 871,601, corresponding to United States Patent No. 3,018,973.

In British Patent No. 871,601, there is claimed a winding apparatus for filamentary material being collected on to a rotating receiving bobbin via a traverse mechanism wherein the filamentary material on the receiving bobbin is provided with a transfer tail by means of an entrainment device positioned between the limit of the traverse mechanism and a temporary collecting means for said filamentary material, characterised in that the entrainment device is a member projecting radially to the axis of the bobbin and arranged to rotate with the bobbin in the region between the end of the traverse path and the end of the bobbin.

It has been found that yarn passing round the projecting member of the entrainment device tends to be become severly contaminated with dirt, particularly when a large package is being wound. This contamination is worse when the yarn is entrained by the tip of the projecting member.

According to the present invention we provide a modification of the Winding apparatus of British Patent No. 871,601, characterised in that the projecting member is a double ended flexible lug, the tips of which lie close to the surface of the stationary bobbin and are thrown out therefrom when the bobbin is rapidly rotated. The double ended lug may conveniently form a part of an elastic band, preferably of rubber, which can be slipped over the end of the bobbin. At speeds of the order of 7,500 revolutions per minute the ends of the lug are thrown out at an angle of 3060 and yarn which is readily entrained on the leading end is pulled down close to the bobbin surface so that contact with air borne dirt is minimized. The projecting ends of the lug may be conveniently used to tie the loose tail of yarn, on completion of the winding operation, in the mannerof a cleat for securing a rope or cord.

We have found that variation of the angle assumed by the ends of the lug at speeds of the order of 7,500 revolutions per minute within the range 30 to 60 does not alfect the satisfactory performance of our entrainment device but that the performance deteriorates rapidly as the angle diverges outside these limits.

An important advantage of the method of our invention is that by means of our device the transfer tails formed may be easily secured directly on the bobbins without using sleeves or special sleeves with tail tabs.

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of a stationary bobbin 2 provided with a traverse mechanism 8 to guide filamentary material 9 on the bobbin and a temporary collecting means 10 for the filamentary material and fitted with a device according to the present invention. The device includes an elastic band 1 surrounding the bobbin 2 and positioned thereon at a point outside the traverse path of the winding mechanism. A double-ended flexible lug 3 is integrally formed with the elastic band 1 and lies in an are close to the surface of the bobbin 2 when the latter is stationary.

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the stationary bobbin 2 of FIGURE 1.

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FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the bobbin 2 during rotation thereof. The ends 4 and 5 of the lug 3 are free of the elastic band 1 so that, at sufiicient rotational speed of the bobbin 2, theyare thrown outwardly so that a notch 6 is formed between them and the bobbin 2. The yarn is entrained in the notch 6 by rotation of the bobbin 2 and, after the yarn has been broken at a point outwardly of the bobbin 2, the length of yarn between the break and the notch becomes wound on the bobbin 2 below the elastic band 1 in the same manner as set forth in the aforementioned British patent.

While the improved winding device described herein may be used in the collection of synthetic filaments generally, for example on draw-twisting machines, it has proved particularly useful in Winding filaments of polyesters, and stereoregular polyolefines.

In a preferred embodiment of our invention yarns of polyethylene terephthalate and isotactic polypropylene were processed on a conventional draw-twisting machine fitted with sleeveless collection bobbins to which were attached the improved rubber entrainment bands of this invention. The same yarns were also processed using sleeved collection bobbins fitted with the entrainment device of British Patent Specification 871,601. All the bobbins were examined for entrained dirt. The improvement obtained, in terms of the reduced number of unacceptably dirty bobbins, with the device of the present invention is shown in the following table.

Table Unacceptable bobbins, percent Entrainment means Yarn wound This invention- 0 13.1 871,601 2a. 4 B1 871 am 22. 5

50 denier polyethylene terephthalate.

denier polyethylene terephthalate.

1140 denier isotactic pol ypropylene.

As 1 above As 2 above As 3 abov What we claim is: 1. Winding apparatus for filamentary material comprising: a rotatable receiving bobbin; and an entrainment device for forming a transfer tail, said device being carried by said bobbin between the end of the traverse path of the filamentary material and the end of the bobbin and including a double-ended flexible lug, the ends of which are free of said bobbin and lie close to the surface of the bobbin when the same is stationary, said ends being thrown outwardly when the bobbin is rotated rapidly.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the double ended lug forms part of an elastic band.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the elastic band is made of rubber.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the construction is such that at speeds of about 7500 revolutions per minute the ends of the lug are thrown out at an means for said material; an entrainment device comprisving an elastic member encircling and secured by frictionand its resilience to the bobbin in the region between the lower limit of the transverse mechanism'path and the. bottom of the bobbin, and means onsaid member forentraining. the filamentary material while maintaining the entrained filamentary material substantially. uncona v taminated with entrained dirt and providing the filamentary material collected on the bobbin with a transfer tail, said means including a double-ended flexible lug connected intermediate its ends to said elastic member, said ends lying close to the surface of the bobbin when the latter is stationary and being thrown outwardly to positions spaced from the surface of the bobbin when the latter is rotating. v a

6. Apparatus as in claim 5 wherein said lug extends along a circumferential portion of the bobbin whereby its ends lie in a plane transverse to the axis of rotation of the bobbin.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS v FOREIGN PATENTS 332,936 7/30 Great Britain.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

RUSSELL C. MADER Examiner. 

1. WINDING APPARATUS FOR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL COMPRISING: A ROTATABLE RECEIVING BOBBIN; AND AN ENTRAINMENT DEVICE FOR FORMING A TRANSFER TAIL, SAID DEVICE BEING CARRIED BY SAID BOBBIN BETWEEN THE END OF THE TRAVERSE PATH OF THE FILAMENTARY MATERIAL AND THE END OF THE BOBBIN AND INCLUDING A DOUBLE-ENDED FLEXIBLE LUG, THE ENDS OF WHICH ARE FREE OF SAID BOBBIN AND LIE CLOSE TO THE SURFACE OF THE BOBBIN WHEN THE SAME IS STATIONARY, SAID ENDS BEING THROWN OUTWARDLY WHEN THE BOBBIN IS ROTATED RAPIDLY. 